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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Pawleys Island, SC
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Pawleys Island profile


Living in Pawleys Island



Pawleys Island is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of South Carolina. With a population of 135 people and five associated neighborhoods, Pawleys Island is the 282nd largest community in South Carolina.

Pawleys Island home prices are not only among the most expensive in South Carolina, but Pawleys Island real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, Pawleys Island is also a town of artists. Pawleys Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Pawleys Island’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 25.58% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Pawleys Island is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

In addition, Pawleys Island is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Pawleys Island has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Pawleys Island has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Pawleys Island than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Pawleys Island may be for you.

One of the nice things about Pawleys Island is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Pawleys Island spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.03 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.

Being a small town, Pawleys Island does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Pawleys Island, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Pawleys Island is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 81.58% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Pawleys Island in 2022 was $139,302, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $557,208 for a family of four.

The people who call Pawleys Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Pawleys Island residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Pawleys Island include English, Irish, Swedish, Scottish, and Scots-Irish.

The most common language spoken in Pawleys Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Arabic.